This device of this disclosure relates to an improvement in cleaning devices for tube-like objects and systems, and more particularly to a cleaning device suited for cleaning and maintaining tube-like components use in and for respiratory systems,
Sleep apnea is a true breathing obstruction which, according to the National Institutes of Health, affects over 12 million Americans. A person afflicted with sleep apnea requires that person, when sleeping, to awaken to begin breathing again. Snoring is a common symptom of sleep apnea, a result of the obstruction, and sometimes even a cause of sleep apnea. Snoring by itself, however, does not involve the cessation of breathing.
As concisely stated by the National Sleep Foundation on their website and included herein, sleep apnea causes a person to stop breathing periodically throughout sleep, which upsets the balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood. The brain senses the reduction in oxygen and the increase in carbon dioxide and sends a signal to resume breathing. The person wakes up in response to the breathing arousal signal from the brain. The muscles of the tongue and throat awaken to enlarge the airway and allow carbon dioxide to escape and oxygen to enter. The waking episodes are necessary to restart breathing (and save the person's life), but they prevent the individual from getting high-quality sleep.
On a physical level, the sleep apnea sufferer cannot breathe because they have an obstructed airway. The throat muscles and tongue relax too much and may be enlarged or misshapen, so the air passage is narrowed during sleep.
Sleep apnea sufferers awaken frequently to restart breathing, but they remember little or nothing of being awake. Frequent waking at night may be a sign of sleep apnea. The frequency of waking episodes varies, but may be between 10 and 60 per night. Severe sleep apnea may cause the sleeper to experience more than 100 waking episodes in a single night. One measure of sleep apnea is that the person must stop breathing for a period of at least 10 seconds or more, five times within an hour. Some sleep apnea sufferers may stop breathing for as long as two minutes. Basically there are three types of sleep apnea; obstructive sleep apnea, central sleep apnea, and mixed sleep apnea.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is the most common type of sleep apnea. OSA is caused by an obstruction in or blockage of the airway usually when the soft tissue in the rear of the throat collapses and closes during sleep which then actually stops the air flow in the nose and mouth. Throat and abdominal breathing continue normally. Obstructive Sleep Apnea is commonly accompanied by snoring and causes the sleeper to wake up, gasping or snorting, and then go back to sleep again.
Central Sleep Apnea (CSA) is a much less common type than Obstructive Sleep Apnea. In Central Sleep Apnea, the airway is not blocked but the brain fails to signal the muscles to breathe or the brain signal that instructs the body to breathe is delayed. With CSA, oral breathing and throat and abdominal breathing all cease at the same time. The periods of breathing interruption may last a few seconds, and breathing may be too shallow to provide oxygen to the blood and tissues. CSA may be associated with irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure, heart attack, and/or stroke.
Mixed sleep apnea is a combination of the two other types of sleep apnea, Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Central Sleep Apnea, at the same time.
With each apnea event, however, the brain briefly arouses the sleeper in order for them to resume breathing. Consequently sleep is extremely fragmented and of poor quality. Despite the difference in the root cause of each type of sleep apnea, in all three, people with untreated sleep apnea stop breathing repeatedly during their sleep, sometimes hundreds of times during the night and often for a minute or even longer.
Signs and symptoms of sleep apnea include:
a. Frequent cessation of breathing (apnea) during sleep. Your sleep partner may notice repeated silences from your side of the bed.
b. Choking, gasping, or gagging during sleep to get air into the lungs
c. Loud snoring
d. Waking up sweating during the night
e. Feeling unrefreshed in the morning after a night's sleep
f. Headaches upon awakening
g. Daytime sleepiness, including falling asleep at inappropriate times, such as during driving or at work
h. Lethargy
I. Rapid weight gain
j. Memory loss and learning difficulties
k. Short attention span
l. Poor judgment
m. Depression
n. Personality changes
o. Untreated sleep apnea also may be responsible for job impairment and motor vehicle crashes.
Several known causes of sleep apnea include:
a. Obstructed airway.
b. Central nervous system disorder such as a stroke, a brain tumor, or even a viral brain infection.
c. Chronic respiratory disease.
d. Obesity or excessive weight gain
e. Age.
f. Gender. Men are more likely to experience sleep apnea because they have narrower airways than do women.
g. Irregular sleep hours.
h. High blood pressure is another risk factor for sleep apnea.
i. Anatomic abnormalities or facial deformities, such as nasal obstruction, an enlarged tongue, a narrow airway, a receding chin, a small jaw, tissues blocking the airway, a deviated septum, polyps, or certain palate and jaw shapes.
j. Snoring itself is not only a result of sleep apnea, but also a cause. The repeated vibrations of the soft palate during snoring can cause the soft palate to lengthen, which can obstruct the airway.
k. Enlarged tonsils or adenoids in children.
l. Use of alcohol and sedatives before bedtime.
m. Nasal congestion, nasal blockages, and nasal irritants such as household dust and dander can inhibit breathing through the nose and force breathing through the throat, which may also be blocked
n. Severe heartburn or acid reflux (gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD).
As mentioned earlier, sleep apnea is very common and affects more than 12 million Americans. Risk factors include being male, overweight, and over the age of 40, but sleep apnea can strike anyone at any age, even children. Because of the lack of public awareness and lack of awareness by many healthcare professionals, the vast majority of those suffering from sleep apnea remain undiagnosed and therefore remain untreated, despite the fact that this serious disorder can have significant consequences.
Untreated, sleep apnea can cause high blood pressure and other cardiovascular disease, memory problems, weight gain, impotency, and headaches. Sleep apnea is a dangerous and progressive sleep disorder and it generally gets worse as the person afflicted with it ages. Not only does sleep apnea result in sleep deprivation, but it also can threaten your life.
Sleep apnea, however, can be diagnosed and it can be treated effectively. To diagnose for sleep apnea, a doctor will probably perform a physical examination of the person's mouth; and/or recommend an overnight sleep study in a sleep clinic.
Several treatment options currently exist and on-going research into additional treatment options continues. Several such treatment options include behavioral changes, surgery (extremely intrusive), medication (though not generally effective), and physical and mechanical therapy. The latter (physical and mechanical therapy) have been found most effective in the treatment of sleep apnea.
Such physical and mechanical therapies include oxygen administration, Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP), surgery, and dental appliances or jaw adjustment devices. Of these, Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) is one of the most common long-term treatments for severe sleep apnea.
CPAP therapy requires the person to wear a mask over their nose during sleep. The mask blows air through the nasal passages, and the pressure is adjusted to keep the airway open during the night. A mask in such therapies, however, is cumbersome to use, uncomfortable to wear, especially while trying to sleep, and difficult to maintain.
A novel air passage device entails the use of a nasal interface which has nasal ports to be inserted directly into one's nostrils. This device is illustrated in FIG. 1 and has been found to be equally effective as a CPAP treatment therapy while at the same time causing little or no discomfort to the wearer as opposed to the mask described earlier.
Either form of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure is often successful in treating sleep apnea, although for to be effective, CPAP patients must consistently use the nasal mask or nasal interface and commit to other lifestyle changes as well, such as losing weight. Unfortunately, many people find CPAP a difficult treatment because of discomfort or claustrophobia as to the mask. Additionally, and the most common reason for discontinued use of CPAP, particularly for those using the nasal interface, is the required daily maintenance of the device used. Therefor, while CPAP is effective, it is often unsuccessful because of noncompliance.
The device of this present disclosure provides a solution for non-use of these important CPAP treatment systems, particularly those using the nasal interface type, by greatly simplifying the maintenance and cleaning process for these treatment systems.
The foregoing has outlined some of the more pertinent objects of the cleaning device of the present disclosure. These objects should be construed to be merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the cleaning device of the present disclosure. Many other beneficial results can be attained by applying the disclosed cleaning device of the present disclosure in a different manner or by modifying the cleaning device of the present disclosure within the scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, other objects and a fuller understanding of the cleaning device of the present disclosure may be had by referring to the summary of the cleaning device of the present disclosure and the detailed description of the preferred embodiment in addition to the scope of the cleaning device of the present disclosure defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.